Floor covering insert



Dec. 12, 1939.

E. R. GUISE 2,133,041

FLOOR COVERING INSERT Filed on. 29, 1937 mvsmok Eovnl R. @wu

A a. ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT DFFICE FLOOR covEmNG INSERT Application October 29, 1937, Serial No. 171,725

5 Claims.

The present invention relates primarily to hard surfaced floor covering, such as linoleum or other flexible floor covering but more particularly to design inserts of such materials.

A decorative hard surfaced floor covering is usually obtained by laying over and cementing to the sub floor a flexible patterned floor covering in which the pattern repeats at regular intervals or a more distinctive decorated floor is obtained by the use of a plain fioor covering or one variegated by marbilizing or jaspeing, etc. into which are inserted lines or breadths, straight or curved, of contrasting colors and/or designs usually called inserts which may be pictorial, monograms or symbols, of one kind or another. When large or long pieces are to be inserted into a relatively plain colored background these are usually cut from the material of contrasting color during the process of laying the floor. In the case of inserts containing small and oftentimes complex figures or lettering, these are usually cut by the manufacturer with the help of dies, cutawl or other tools. Inserts of this class are usually made in a variety of standard designs or patterns; also are made specially to portray trade-marks or other figures which are unique. I

To handle inserts of this class practically it is necessary to secure the various elements of the design together so that the inserts may be handled and shipped as units. To do this it has been customary to place over the face of the insert papertape, Cellophane, etc. In the display of such inserts at stores the material used to hold the parts of the insert together obscures the design. Even when Cellophane is used the colors are not accurately portrayed.

Another disadvantage in making an insert integral in this way is that, after laying in the fioor, it is necessary to remove the facing material, which temporarily held integral the insert, and. considerable time is consumed in clearing adhesive, etc. from the face. It is the object of this present invention to eliminate these diflicuities.

The present invention provides design inserts for floor covering which are adapted'to be inserted in and unified with larger background covering areas either before or at the time the covering is laid in place. It is an object of my invention to provide ornamental inserts ofv the type referred to in which all the elements of the design are flexibly held together as a unitary piece whereby each unit may be readily laid in place or incorporated with other floor covering. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the appended drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a front 'or top plan view of a design insert made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the back or base of the insert shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section view of a design insert secured to a floor in accordance with the present invention; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the back of a sheet of fioor covering in which a design insert has been inserted and secured in accordance with the present invention.

In accordance with the invention, the insert elements or tesserae i are formed or cut in any convenient manner and according to a predetermined pattern from finished fioor covering material, consisting of hardened or cured surfacing material, such as linoleum mix, on the. usual fabric or felt base, having the desired color and generally of uniform standard thickness.

In making up the insert 2, the various tesserae l thereof are fitted together, in the manner called for by the pattern, face down on a smooth surface. The insert 2 is thus loosely formed. In order to bond the component parts of the insert together, I first apply over the back of the loosely formed insert a coating 3 of cement which is preferably flexible in character when dried, such as rubber cement, for reasons hereinafter stated.

' Sufficient cement is applied to form a thin coating over the back of the assembly and also preferably to fill interstices between the tesserae. While the cement is still tacky, I apply to the back of the assembled insert a flexible backing material 4, herein termed a backing sheet. which may be a woven fabric, a felted fibrous material or the like, which is of sufiicient size to extend over all abutting edges of the insert. The backing sheet 4 is pressed to cause it to adhere throughout to the cement layer on the back of the insert, as by rolling and the cement is then allowed to dry. Upon the drying of the cement the insert is completed and ready for use, the combination of cement and backing sheet holding the parts together with sufilcient firmness to -resist the stresses incident to shipping and handling before and during application. I

To incorporate a design insert into floor covering when the covering is laid, the proper location for the insert is first determined, as by loosely laying the covering over the sub floor. A piece conforming in outline to that of the insert is then cut from the covering in the predetermined location, as may readily be done by placing the insert on the covering and cutting around its margin or tracing a cutting line about its-margin. To facilitate this operation, I prefer to have the insert of more or less regular outline, such as the circular form shown in the drawing, as may be readily done in the case of designs of irregular outline by completing the circle or other regular intended or of a color or pattern suitable as a background for the design.

A coating of cement is then applied to the floor in the usual fashion and the covering laid thereover. The inserts are then placed in the spaces previously cut therefor in the covering and the whole covering subjected to the usual rolling and finishing treatments.

It will be noted that the backing sheet 4 is not removed from the unit. Since the tesserae of the inserts are generally of substantially the same thickness as the surrounding covering, I prefer to employ a relatively thin backing sheet 4 to avoid material raising of the unit above the level of surrounding floor covering. I also prefer that the backing sheet 4 be porous or of coarse mesh, such, for example, as tobacco cloth or cheesecloth, to permit the floor cement to penetrate therethrough and adhere directly to the backs of the insert elements, as shown in Fig. 3 in which 5 is the surface covered, 6 the layer of covering cement and 1 the surrounding covering. Where the backing sheet 4 is sufliciently porous to be penetrated by the flooring cement, the insert elements are secured directly to the sub floor by the floor cement, thus providing a somewhat stronger bond of the insert to the floor than in cases where the backing sheet 4 is not penetrated by the flooring cement. Moreover, penetration of the cement through the fabric assists in preventing raising of the unit above the level of the surrounding covering due to presence of the added thickness of the backing sheet.

I prefer to use a flexible cement to secure the backing sheet to' the insert elements, since such cement provides a flexible bond between insert elements and backing sheet and between abutting edges of the insert elements which does not crack and loosen under ordinary flexing incident to shipment, display and application of the inserts to the floor. After application of the covering to the surface, the flexible cement remains as a bond between the edges of adjacent tesserae, sealing the interstices and assuring that the tesserae will not break apart and scufi up under use.

While ornamental inserts of the present invention are adapted to be incorporated in floor covering at the time the same is laid, in the manner described, they may also, if desired, be readily incorporated in the covering by the manufacturer, as shown in Fig. 4. In such case, the insert may be made up in the manner previously described, except that the backing sheet 4 extends somewhat beyond the edges of the insert, say a distance of several inches. The covering I is then cut to receive the insert, in the manner previously described, and the insert fitted into the aperture thus made, from the back of the covering. The backing sheet 4 will then extend out over the back of the covering adjacent the insert, and may be secured thereto by flexible cement which may also be applied to the adjacent edges of insert and covering to bond them together. The insert is thus sufllciently secured in place in the covering to withstand the stresses of transportation and laying and the composite covering may be applied to the floor in normal fashion, the floor cement securing all fitted parts of the covering firmly and smoothly to the floor, as previously described. It is not essential in this, case that the insert be completed prior to application to the covering. For example, the

" covering may be first cut to receive the insert,

the loose elements-ofthe insert then fitted together in the aperture in the covering from the back and the cement and backing sheet then applied over the back of the assembly.

In general, the type of covering to which this invention mainly relates comprises a wearing layer, including a.hardened binder material, united with a fibrous base. While such covering is used primarily for covering floors and has been described herein as floor covering, it also has other uses such as coverings for walls, tables, etc., and

it will be apparent that my invention is equally applicable in cases of use other than for floor covering. It will also be apparent that the design units of the present invention which I have herein termed inserts" may be advantageously employed as design borders or feature strips incorporated with other floor covering either before or at the time of application to the surface, or may themselves constitute an entire surface covering, individually, as in the case of a small-surface such as a table, or in multiple in the case of large surfaces.

I claim:

1. As a separate article of manufacture, an ornamental unit for insertion in floor covering, said unit comprising pattern elements of finished, flexible hard-surfaced covering material such as linoleum and the like held together by a thin flexible backing sheet cemented to the under surfaces of said elements externally thereof, said backing sheet having a thickness not substantially greater than that of cheesecloth.

2. As a separate article of manufacture, an ornamental unit for insertion in floor covering, said unit comprising pattern elements of finished, flexible hard-surfaced covering material such as linoleum and the like, held together by a thin flexible backing sheet secured to the under surfaces of said elements externally thereof by a flexible cement, said backing sheet being of the order of thickness of cheesecloth.

3. As a separate article of manufacture, an ornamental unit for insertion in floor covering, said unit comprising pattern elements of finished, flexible hard surfaced covering material such as linoleum and the like and a porous flexible backing sheet secured to the under surfaces of said elements, the pores in said backing sheet being sufliciently open after attachment to said elements to permit penetration of flooring cement therethrough to the under surfaces of said elements to secure said elements to a floor.

4. As a separate article of manufacture, an ornamental unit for insertion in floor covering, said unit comprising pattern elements of finished, flexible, hard-surfaced floor covering material such as linoleum and the like held together by a flexible backing sheet secured to the under surfaces of said elements externally thereof and substantially coextensive therewith, said backing sheet being sufficiently thin to permit laying said insert together with surrounding floor covering material of the same thickness as said pattern elements on a smooth surface with the upper surfaces of the, pattern elements substantially level with the upper surface of said floor covering.

5. As a separate article of manufacture, an ornamental unit for insertion in floor covering, said unit comprising patternelements of finished, flexible, hard-surfaced covering material such as linoleum and the like held together by a thin open mesh fabric secured to the under surfaces of said elements to form an external backing pervious to flooring cements.

EDWIN R. GUISE. 

